Definition
Reading: Tokusan Senkan/Tokuzan Senkan / Reading (ZH): Déshān Xuānjiàn
徳山宣鑑 (Deshan Xuanjian) is a Chinese Zen master during the Tang dynasty. In Japanese, the name is read as "Tokusan Sengan" or "Tokuzan Sengan".He is known for his unique Zen style called "Deshan's Stick," in which he strictly trained his students by swinging a stick.
Q&A
- Q: Why did Deshan Xuanjian use a fierce training style like hitting his students with a "stick," instead of teaching them with words?
- A: Because he wanted to instantly cut off "logic (words)" that people think about in their heads, and make them realize the live facts of this exact moment.
Deshan hated "understanding that depends on words" very much. The blow he gave ("Deshan's Stick") left no room for logic or excuses. It was his own way of being thoroughly kind and practical in teaching, pushing his students into "the real world without words" in a single second.
